Umlungu Art: the colours of the soul

Words by Maria de Feo

The expressionist artist Umlungu, whose real name is Brad, was in his studio, when we discussed his craft. He was sitting in front of a white wall covered in large canvases featuring explosions of vibrant colours. I asked what had inspired him to choose these bright shades. I wondered whether the colour he had added to his work reflected the liveliness he saw in the world. He told me it did. The story of his youth is set in Zimbabwe, where he spent many days out and about, camping or fishing. Being outside a lot gave him the chance to appreciate nature’s brightness. I wondered whether his arrival to Scotland had had an impact on his use of colour. I was curious to know whether the iciness of the Scottish landscape had started to reflect on his art, making him adopt cooler tones. Brad admitted that the majestic beauty of the North Sea encouraged him to experiment with different shades of the colour blue. However, he made sure to acknowledge the variety present in Scotland. Scotland is not just one colour, or even one tone. It features a broad selection of landscapes, all so different from one another. To visit Scotland is to visit the sea, but also the mountains. It is to ramble in crowded cobblestoned streets, with the cheerful sound of bagpipes in the background, but also to venture in the quietness of small, lonely towns. Scotland is multidimensional. It is unique, with its distinctive moodiness that is unlike anything you can find elsewhere. At the same time, though, on stormy Scottish nights, Brad said he gets the beautifully unsettling feeling that he could be anywhere. He looks at the sea’s abrupt movements and they remind him of those in many other seaside towns all over the world. I noticed that, while describing the sea, he was gesticulating enthusiastically with his hands, made colourful by blotches of dried paint. The sea is inspiring, he explained, because it always makes its surroundings look a little different. Waves bring novelty, they deposit fragments from mysterious places in the sand, only to take them away briefly after. Sometimes, the fragments left by the sea are used by Brad for the creation of his art. In what he calls his “box of tricks”, he keeps a brush that he picked up from the sand. To make marks on his works, he uses pieces of plastic found at the beach. The sea, then, is the artist’s assistant. However, it is also the artist’s muse. Brad enjoys taking pictures of the sea, as well as getting inspiration and help from it for his paintings. Photography is another one of his creative outlets. It is different from the production of a painting, though. To photograph is to capture the mysterious, the interesting and the captivating in the world. To paint is, Brad explains, to imprint oneself on a canvas. Photography is a search for the eye-catching. It is a search for intrigue and detail. There are many pictures out there, so you must make sure that yours is extra special. “With paintings,” as Brad puts it, “There’s always going to be uniqueness, because I’m representing myself in my deepest form.” “I might take inspiration from the outside world, but, ultimately, I’m representing what is inside me.” So photography is taking the best from the world around you, while painting is releasing who you are. Both seem to be important creative outlets, which we all could benefit from experimenting with. I ask Brad whether he has any advice for anyone who is looking to start crafting their own art, to find their mode of expression. He recommends boldness and an ability to be inspired by the past without letting it be suffocating. While yesterday’s art can teach us a lot, we must make sure that we do not get so hung up on the rigidity of technique that we stop being true to ourselves. If painting is releasing our soul, then it is vital that we make sure our soul does not get lost in our search for the perfect technique. As a young person in love with the idea of making her inner world tangible through art, I cannot help but mention, in our conversation, the distracting effect that social media can have on creativity. Brad agrees. He uses Instagram as an example. The platform can be inspiring because of how full of content it is. When you are out of ideas, you can simply scroll down, and you will find a myriad of them just waiting for you. However, sometimes, for the exact same quality that makes it so enriching and amazing, Instagram can turn into a way to ignore our natural impulse to make art. Some of the most expressive works were born from boredom. When everything gets quiet, we can truly hear what our soul is whispering to us. The amount of content on Instagram makes it extremely difficult to be bored. It numbs us to the inspiring contents within us, providing us with much else to observe or listen to or think about.

To see all the colours in the Scottish landscapes, or in any place we are lucky enough to find ourselves in, we must relinquish, at least for one minute, the control screens have on us. Only then will we be able to do what our soul has been begging us to for all our lives. Only then will we be able to create. And when we do create, Brad says, we should let ourselves do so freely.

Umlungu can be found on instagram @umlunguart and on his website http://umlunguart.com/home